III 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 14 

Calling for an independent international investigation of the April 10, 2010, 

plane crash that killed President of Poland Lech Kaczynski and 95 

other individuals. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 2, 2011 

Mr. BURR submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Calling for an independent international investigation of the 

April 10, 2010, plane crash that killed President of Poland Lech Kaczynski and 95 other individuals. 

Whereas, on April 10, 2010, an airplane carrying President 

of Poland Lech Kaczynski crashed near Smolensk, Russia, killing everyone onboard; 

Whereas the individuals onboard the airplane included President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria Kaczynski, the 

chief of the Polish General Staff, senior Polish military 

officers, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland, 12 

members of the Parliament of Poland, the president of 

the National Bank of Poland, senior members of the Polish clergy, and relatives of victims of the Katyn massacre; 


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•SCON 14 IS 

Whereas President Lech Kaczynski and passengers were traveling to attend a ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Katyn Massacre to honor the 22,000 

Polish officers killed at Katyn by the Soviet Secret Police 

in 1940 when the plane crashed just six miles from 

Katyn; 

Whereas, on April 10, 2010, President of Russia Dmitry 

Medvedev ordered the establishment of a State Commission headed by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to 

investigate the circumstances of the disaster; 

Whereas Prime Minister Vladimir Putin delegated supervision 

to Tatyana Anodina, Chairwoman of the Interstate Aviation Committee in Russia, to investigate the circumstances of the crash; 

Whereas Alexei Morozov was designated as head of the Interstate Aviation Committee’s technical commission; 

Whereas Edmund Klich, the head of the State Commission 

for Aircraft Accident Investigations in Poland, was put in 

charge of the Polish investigative committee; 

Whereas, on May 19, 2010, the Russian Interstate Aviation 

Committee released preliminary reports that the plane 

did not suffer from any mechanical failures and ruled out 

a terrorist attack, explosion, or fire; 

Whereas Russian investigators in preliminary reports stated 

that the crash was the fault of the Polish pilots who did 

not listen to air traffic controllers; 

Whereas Polish investigators released preliminary reports 

concluding that the crash was the fault of the air traffic 

controllers who gave delayed commands to the pilots; 

Whereas only the transcripts of flight recorders have been 

given to Polish investigators; 


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•SCON 14 IS 

Whereas the black boxes have not been handed over to Polish 

investigators; 

Whereas, on January 12, 2011, the Russian Interstate Aviation Committee released its final report concluding that 

pilot error was the cause of the crash and dignitaries on 

the plane pressured the pilots to land; 

Whereas the Interstate Aviation Committee’s final report did 

not include any information regarding actions of Russian 

air traffic controllers communicating with the plane; 

Whereas requests for certain additional information by Polish 

investigators have been denied; 

Whereas, on January 12, 2011, Tatyana Anodina, Chairwoman of the Interstate Aviation Committee, stated that 

Russia is prepared to provide results of its final report 

to an international investigation or auditors if necessary; 

Whereas, on January 13, 2011, Prime Minister Donald Tusk 

of Poland called for intervention by international institutions in the event authorities from Poland and Russia 

cannot produce a report that satisfies both sides; 

Whereas, according to the Convention on International Civil 

Aviation, signed at Chicago December 7, 1944 (also 

known as the ‘‘Chicago Convention’’), if one country does 

not agree with an aviation disaster report drafted by another country, they may meet to reach consensus on the 

matter; and 

Whereas over 300,000 Poles have signed a petition calling for 

an international investigation: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That Congress calls for an independent interVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:11 May 03, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SC14.IS SC14

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•SCON 14 IS 

1 national investigation of the April 10, 2010, plane crash 

2 near Smolensk, Russia. 

Æ 


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